NJ FOLKS - You should have received your mail-in ballot if you vote by mail!
I have VOTED on Day 1 (I got the ballot yesterday night and voted this morning). And so did my spouse. And frankly, if they were eligible, I would have had my cats and dog vote, but the best I can do there is emotional support.
NJ voter: I'd be happy to vote today, but it always takes some time to suss out the local school board election. I can't google most of the candidates and our local paper hasn't published anything helpful yet. I bet this is not an unusual problem.
Not by those names. I think the names are unique and local, so I don't know what to think -- "Advocating for Children," "Making Montgomery Thrive," and "Representing our Community" -- your guess is as good as mine.
Call your local teacher's union. They will tell you who stands for what. I happen to know all the candidates running ( unopposed as it turns out ) and used to case manage one their kids in my town.
Fisher makes an excellent point. I don’t know where to find it, but certainly there are people who are keeping track of the "Moms for Liberty" candidates, whatever names they fly under and however well-camouflaged they are.
My village has a woman who is a closeted "Moms for Liberty", (not public knowledge). but clearly rightwing reactionary, and one of the most obnoxious people I've met. Pretty good considering I spent my career working with groups of all sorts on often contentious issues. I did some background research on her, and found her name on a "discussion board" with an innocuous name. I realized it was a Moms for Liberty site by reading the posts. My, em, "neighbor" turned out to be the site operator. It was totally weird, off the wall stuff, disinformation about schools, so she definitely has inclinations. Not on school board and unlikely to be - as far I know she didn't even apply for a vacancy that opened up this year. It's filled by someone I know is school supportive.
This is one of those areas where the internet can be your friend. Use multiple search engines to search using names and locations, and key words that might hit on right wing stuff. These are standard research techniques. Use details that might pop up to run other searches. These people often have multiple contacts. As we all do, which is something to keep in mind. I don't mind, as I have a common name and what I do is pretty open. But I also use a pseudonym for some things I write that could have a wide exposure, for protection.
I generally look at who the NJEA and the local teachers are supporting... if you live in a large enough city or school district, ballotpedia can help too
Are you part of Action Together NJ, SWEEP NJ or the NJ Public Education Coalition? All have formal or informal databases about NJ school board candidates. It's frustrating that it's so hard to find out about candidates' positions outside of progressive organizing spaces, though!
That is one of the harder things about voting on Day One. You have to dig up info on the downballot candidates or just pick out random names for school board and judges.
NC has partisan races for judge but non-paritsan for school board, soil conservation etc.
In NC voter records are public, so if you know a full name & county you can look up anyone in the state and see their party affiliation. In NC unaffiliated voters can vote in the primaries but much specify which party's ballot they want to vote, which is also recorded in their voter record.
Nope. I won't vote for anyone randomly. I might be inadvertently cancelling out somebody else's vote, which is irresponsible. There is info out there. It really does not take that long to get a feel about whether a candidate has the values and experience I'm looking for. But I will NOT vote for anyone at random. I am willing to sit down at my computer and do searches on the candidates. Newspapers run stories, radio and tv often have websites with candidate info. Parties post bios, candidates have websites. I'll even call a candidate and ask them questions.
Have you checked www.vote411.org? This is sponsored by tthe League of Women Voters and includes a "what's on your ballot" section. I think info on the local races will depend on the persistance of the local chapters in hounding candidates to return the surveys they send out.
But in my area everything is on the ballot. You can drill down from race to candidate to candidate info & survey. The Leaague tries to capture qualifications, website and social media handles, etc, and they send out a series of open-ended questions to all the candidates based on the type of race (legislative, judicial, school board, etc. and allows you to compare candidates sise-by-side. It is totally non-partisan, but you can still tell a lot.
Also, the Moms for Liberty types tend to run as a slate together or they will provide cookie cutter answers to the survey questions. We had a group of 3 running on a "unity" ticket for the 3 at-large seats. But we were on to them and the County Democratic party took the unusual move to interview all 13 candidates and then endorse 3. The Dem's endorsed candidates took the top three places and shut out Mom's for Liberty/Unity ticket.
Do you have a local Public Radio station? Ours publishes so very good voter guides.
Among the many helpful suggestions, this one took me to some detailed answers from most of the candidates. As you suggest, it's hard to really evaluate the answers you get without insider knowledge, but this gave me something to study, at least.
Thank you for voting on Day One!!! Please reach out to all pro-Harris friends/family/neighbors/young folks you know to do the same, all little efforts like this get us to the finish line, LFG.
It has taken me way way WAY too long to understand that the average American voter just doesn't pay attention to this stuff like I always have. Truth be told, I don't know whether I hate that fact or love that fact. In any event, I love "tangeranus" so thank you for that!
You know, I keep thinking back to Tom Suozzi -- up by 1 in the polling going into Election Day in his special election, then winning the actual election by eight points. Let's make that happen NATIONWIDE in every race!
You mean a Democrat outperformed a poll? But wait, CNN and the NYT told me very clearly that Trump has outperformed every poll in history by 10 points, is loved and adored by all, and weighs 180 pounds and also that no Democrat has ever outperformed a poll (no matter what the electoral results say)! Let's go ask Senator Dr. Oz about this...
Sorry to miss the event yesterday in DC. The Eventbrite registration didn't send a Zoom link, only an in-person ticket. Tried to "contact the organizer" but I'm sure you had your hands full!
Same here, Karen. Pity Eventbrite was so disorganized when it came to livestreaming and notifications. Fortunately, Cindy H posted a link to the video so I am very satisfied that I’ve been able to watch parts of it today.
Thanks so much. I went over and just finished watching it. [Highly recommended.]
I'd also like to request that Simon post links to as many of these "discussions" as possible. They give a deeper and more extensive explanation of what we're about.
Our group hit the 1 million postcards mailed mark yesterday! Keep going everyone. I recruited a new Hopium member in the post office lobby last night. Thank you Simon for all the hope and encouragement.
I still think Harris has to do more to remind voters that Trump did not create a good economy--he inherited (like his business) a good economy from Obama/Biden before destroying the economy with mishandling of COVID. And to emphasize that the deficit caused by Trump's tax cut for the rich was the biggest single cause of inflation that Biden/Harris had to fix.
There is no zoom meeting tonight. I will be sending various talks, pods and tv interviews to you over the coming days. Will still be a whole lot of Simon. We will go weekly with my talks next week. Still working out the schedule.
Amazing, amazing, Simon, thank you for all this info!!! So psyched, I'm diving in to more postcards this afternoon...I appreciate all the work you're doing!!!!!
Interesting comment by an in=law who does not like Trump but told me she could never vote for a "socialist" -- that must be one of the major lines coming out of the GOP/MAGA/FOX machine. I had to counter. But, be aware, door-knockers, you may hear this from Independents and never-Trumpers.
I know it wouldn't be kosher to do this, but I'd like to know what their definition of socialist is, since MAGA also calls us fascists and communists. Trump calls Kamala a Communist. So grade school.
Last evening I watched on MSNBC a bit where union members- tuned in too late to hear which one- from Michigan in a meeting with the host. The members had little knowledge of Trump's legal woes, one did say that he thinks it had something to do with a riot on Feb. 6. Kid you, not- that was the date he gave. They were not interested in abortion. Only one claimed that he had heard something about the Dobb's decision. Pretty disheartning! Didn't stick around to see if they planned to vote. Certainly no time to get rid of the Education Dept. Time to bring Civics back as a requirement, for their own good and America's.
I think it works less well than in the past, and as the Cold War recedes it will be even less effective. But, unfortunately, for a lot of people who left Cuba or Venezuela, as an example, it can be effective. They should understand that Kamala isn't trying to seize the means of production to install a dictatorship of the proletariat. But they don't and never will.
Those things fade with time too I think but we have to make this moment work.
definition: government programs are not the answer; SS and Medicare are the most abused programs (she does live in an area of disability scamming). However, her daughter, my daughter=in-law is an early Alzheimer victim who is receiving SS and Medicare which is also helping my daughter and their children. Go figure. There is no logic. In my day, anything like the ACA would have been considered socialized medicine. (I am 81) Now some of our greatest institutions provide "socialized" medicine -- Kaiser, Cleveland clinic, Mayo, etc -- and big insurance has driven us out of classic coverage into managed care programs. And, now because of waste, high admin costs, we have even worse care and long waits. On the other hand Medicare, while not perfect by any means, has very low admin cost. To me that's how it should work.
We need an educated, informed, emotionally stable/mature electorate for democracy to reach its potential. I had a semester of civics in HS in the early '80s, taught by the football coach, who was a knucklehead. Guess the school itself didn't take the course seriously, which is a travesty.
But, some were married. They don't care about their wife's or daughter's health/safety? In addition, what I felt was repugnant was they seemed to have no curiosity about the world they live in how could they not know about Jan.6 th? My thought is that they do know, but they don't care.
1) Typo: "Remember, running up the score in the early vote is just about banking more votes..." Needs to say: "NOT just about banking more votes."
2) I'm working with a TikTok creator who needs a script about why it's important to Vote on Day One. Incredibly, there's no TikTok video on that and I want to help make it happen. Thanks Simon I try not to ask you anything. Just a few sentences and we'll make happen!
Thank you for the good news, Simon! Here in Virginia, voters don't register by parties. And last year and this year, Republicans are begging their voters to vote early. They won't vote by mail, but they are voting early. Hopefully, more of our voters than theirs are voting early. Our grassroots group held two Vote Early parties and got over 60 people to vote early and then head to a local brewery to celebrate.
And, by the way, when phone banking, I can see the voters who've already voted and skip them -- in case you ever wondered if it works as seamlessly as Simon says.
When the Target Early tool comes out, soon, it will have modeled party, which makes a highly informed guess on the party of independent voters or states without party registration. It will allow us to see into VA as we did last year and in 2022. It should be out soon. And yes thanks for the validation on the folks coming off the rolls. Entire GOTV system is built around removing folks who have already voted to make this valued voter contacts more effective.
One day, I want to talk with the independent voters that think republicans are so good for the economy. I would love to point out that every democratic administration for the last 30 years has had to rebuild a wrecked economy left by the previous republican administration. Every. Single. One. Harris will be the first democratic president in over 30 years who inherited a strong, growing economy.
I wonder if some of the time, Republicans get credit for coasting on the strong economy left them by the Democrats, then wreck it and leave the Dems with a mess to clean up. So people think things are good under Rep bc of the good economy left by Dems and then think Dems aren’t as good bc 1/2 their term is spent in a mess trying to fix what Reps left them. And usually with an antagonistic congress.
That's exactly right! Remember Clinton left office with a surplus and Bush gave it back to the taxpayers then cut taxes twice. Obama spent 4 years fixing it, but after passing the ACA he lost the house after his first two years in office. It the fixing of the economy that the painful part, and that's what people remember.
Thank you, Simon. Y'all, I'm such a nut that I now think Harris will win in Florida for an early election evening TKO. But I'll stop daydreaming now and get back to my postcards! Happy hump day, everyone!
MeidasTouch has a nice video/podcast about FL out this morning. I'm not holding my breath but glad to see the enthusiasm there. I trust the DNC and Harris campaign will go in only if/when they believe they've got the rest of the map managed and can safely dedicate the immense resources to playing for real in FL.
Democrats need to elect Deb Mucarsel-Powell in Florida to hold the Senate. So we absolutely do need to go into Florida! Holding the Senate is vital for confirming President Harris’ judges and Executive branch appointments, for passing budgets and for passing legislation. We do not want two years of Republican obstruction directed by Trump!
Do you think Tester won't make it? And who do you think has the better shot at the stretch races, Allred in TX or Powell in FL? (Would also love Kunce to beat Hawley's butt.) Right now, Allred seems to be doing better than the others, but only in one poll (up by a point). Hopium springs eternal!
Both TX and FL have brutal voter suppression and are run by fascists so the campaigns need to overcome those barriers in addition to winning over the electorate. I have donated to Tester, Mucarsel-Powell, Kunce, Brown and will give some to Allred, so not counting them out, but I'm not qualified to judge whether any other state should be in play and gaming it out diverts my attention from volunteering so I leave it to Simon and the other experts to make that call.
GA has terrible voter suppression and is run by fascists...don't give up on the South. I, of course, trust the DP, but damn I'd love to see us throw some money at Florida, Texas....and now I think we're going to take that Nebraska Senate seat!!
I think we need insurance – and not put all our eggs in one basket. Polls seem to indicate we have a better shot in Florida than Texas. Also, in Florida, the referenda on abortion and on weed should help turnout for our side.
That said, I think the best argument for Mucarsel-Powell is everything Rick Scott says and does!
I too would love to se Lucas Kunce beat the ever-deplorable Hawley but that seems like a very long shot. Likewise Osborn in Nebraska, even though the polls say he’s better positioned.
Oh, yes, the referendums (I can't carry off proper Latin like you!)...forgot about those. They will help a lot if we are close. I'm not ruling anything out; too many unknowns in our favor. Osborn running as an Indie, so not sure of Dem $$ support. I'll take the 1-point lead, though!
Pretty sure "referendums" is perfectly correct. My Latin is nothing to brag about. That said, my daughter stunned me by reading Harry Potter in Latin in her late teens!
Please stay safe in Florida all ! !!🌀 Predicted to be a massive Cat 3 hurricane, Helene is expected to make landfall Thursday night.JD Vance is of course so concerned…he’s holding a fundraiser(up to 100k/couple) in Winter Park today where they’re under state of emergency and tropical storm warning.Guess he won’t be helping pass out sandbags!
Good, short ad . What are her chances?
Love Lincoln project ads
NJ FOLKS - You should have received your mail-in ballot if you vote by mail!
I have VOTED on Day 1 (I got the ballot yesterday night and voted this morning). And so did my spouse. And frankly, if they were eligible, I would have had my cats and dog vote, but the best I can do there is emotional support.
VOTING ON DAY 1 is super-important!
NJ voter: I'd be happy to vote today, but it always takes some time to suss out the local school board election. I can't google most of the candidates and our local paper hasn't published anything helpful yet. I bet this is not an unusual problem.
Any "Moms for Liberty" or similar candidates running for your school board? Really important not to let them have power or influence.
Not by those names. I think the names are unique and local, so I don't know what to think -- "Advocating for Children," "Making Montgomery Thrive," and "Representing our Community" -- your guess is as good as mine.
Call your local teacher's union. They will tell you who stands for what. I happen to know all the candidates running ( unopposed as it turns out ) and used to case manage one their kids in my town.
Fisher makes an excellent point. I don’t know where to find it, but certainly there are people who are keeping track of the "Moms for Liberty" candidates, whatever names they fly under and however well-camouflaged they are.
Action Together NJ is doing it together w NJPEC. Look em up.
My village has a woman who is a closeted "Moms for Liberty", (not public knowledge). but clearly rightwing reactionary, and one of the most obnoxious people I've met. Pretty good considering I spent my career working with groups of all sorts on often contentious issues. I did some background research on her, and found her name on a "discussion board" with an innocuous name. I realized it was a Moms for Liberty site by reading the posts. My, em, "neighbor" turned out to be the site operator. It was totally weird, off the wall stuff, disinformation about schools, so she definitely has inclinations. Not on school board and unlikely to be - as far I know she didn't even apply for a vacancy that opened up this year. It's filled by someone I know is school supportive.
https://bluevoterguide.org/ This might be helpful. Put together with folks from Field Team 6. Not sure how comprehensive it is for your area.
Thanks for that, but it doesn't drop below state-level races. The school board races are non-partisan, so figuring them out can't be automated.
This is one of those areas where the internet can be your friend. Use multiple search engines to search using names and locations, and key words that might hit on right wing stuff. These are standard research techniques. Use details that might pop up to run other searches. These people often have multiple contacts. As we all do, which is something to keep in mind. I don't mind, as I have a common name and what I do is pretty open. But I also use a pseudonym for some things I write that could have a wide exposure, for protection.
I generally look at who the NJEA and the local teachers are supporting... if you live in a large enough city or school district, ballotpedia can help too
Are you part of Action Together NJ, SWEEP NJ or the NJ Public Education Coalition? All have formal or informal databases about NJ school board candidates. It's frustrating that it's so hard to find out about candidates' positions outside of progressive organizing spaces, though!
That is one of the harder things about voting on Day One. You have to dig up info on the downballot candidates or just pick out random names for school board and judges.
NC has partisan races for judge but non-paritsan for school board, soil conservation etc.
In NC voter records are public, so if you know a full name & county you can look up anyone in the state and see their party affiliation. In NC unaffiliated voters can vote in the primaries but much specify which party's ballot they want to vote, which is also recorded in their voter record.
Nope. I won't vote for anyone randomly. I might be inadvertently cancelling out somebody else's vote, which is irresponsible. There is info out there. It really does not take that long to get a feel about whether a candidate has the values and experience I'm looking for. But I will NOT vote for anyone at random. I am willing to sit down at my computer and do searches on the candidates. Newspapers run stories, radio and tv often have websites with candidate info. Parties post bios, candidates have websites. I'll even call a candidate and ask them questions.
Have you checked www.vote411.org? This is sponsored by tthe League of Women Voters and includes a "what's on your ballot" section. I think info on the local races will depend on the persistance of the local chapters in hounding candidates to return the surveys they send out.
But in my area everything is on the ballot. You can drill down from race to candidate to candidate info & survey. The Leaague tries to capture qualifications, website and social media handles, etc, and they send out a series of open-ended questions to all the candidates based on the type of race (legislative, judicial, school board, etc. and allows you to compare candidates sise-by-side. It is totally non-partisan, but you can still tell a lot.
Also, the Moms for Liberty types tend to run as a slate together or they will provide cookie cutter answers to the survey questions. We had a group of 3 running on a "unity" ticket for the 3 at-large seats. But we were on to them and the County Democratic party took the unusual move to interview all 13 candidates and then endorse 3. The Dem's endorsed candidates took the top three places and shut out Mom's for Liberty/Unity ticket.
Do you have a local Public Radio station? Ours publishes so very good voter guides.
Among the many helpful suggestions, this one took me to some detailed answers from most of the candidates. As you suggest, it's hard to really evaluate the answers you get without insider knowledge, but this gave me something to study, at least.
Thank you for voting on Day One!!! Please reach out to all pro-Harris friends/family/neighbors/young folks you know to do the same, all little efforts like this get us to the finish line, LFG.
Just got it today. My son and I voted already. Waiting on wife and daughter to get home. Daughter tends to put things off.....
Can't wait to get mine, but Somerset County always seems to be a little behind. Committing to voting as soon as it arrives, though!
Yep got mine today, voting tomorrow! Both self & spouse! Garden State power!
Monmouth poll: Harris up three in Pa.
I just saw the poll. Plus 3, 4 LV. Funny headlines are always the race is tight when it’s a Harris plus poll. When Trump is ahead that’s the headline.
Also remember Monmouth has always been cinsidered a very high quality polling outfit. Top rated.
Real Clear Polls has yet to post the Monmouth Pa plus 3 Harris poll.
What kind of a voter could possibly think tangeranus knows anything about the economy? It makes no sense.
It has taken me way way WAY too long to understand that the average American voter just doesn't pay attention to this stuff like I always have. Truth be told, I don't know whether I hate that fact or love that fact. In any event, I love "tangeranus" so thank you for that!
You know, I keep thinking back to Tom Suozzi -- up by 1 in the polling going into Election Day in his special election, then winning the actual election by eight points. Let's make that happen NATIONWIDE in every race!
yes yes YES!
You mean a Democrat outperformed a poll? But wait, CNN and the NYT told me very clearly that Trump has outperformed every poll in history by 10 points, is loved and adored by all, and weighs 180 pounds and also that no Democrat has ever outperformed a poll (no matter what the electoral results say)! Let's go ask Senator Dr. Oz about this...
Yeah, well, Trump’s overperformance by 10 points is in ... Unfavorability.
Sorry to miss the event yesterday in DC. The Eventbrite registration didn't send a Zoom link, only an in-person ticket. Tried to "contact the organizer" but I'm sure you had your hands full!
I had trouble with it, as well. The discussion is now up on YouTube and well worth watching.
It was a great event- I recommend watching the video
Same here, Karen. Pity Eventbrite was so disorganized when it came to livestreaming and notifications. Fortunately, Cindy H posted a link to the video so I am very satisfied that I’ve been able to watch parts of it today.
I don't see Cindy's link but here it is on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKHWiEPBHnE
Thanks so much. I went over and just finished watching it. [Highly recommended.]
I'd also like to request that Simon post links to as many of these "discussions" as possible. They give a deeper and more extensive explanation of what we're about.
Our group hit the 1 million postcards mailed mark yesterday! Keep going everyone. I recruited a new Hopium member in the post office lobby last night. Thank you Simon for all the hope and encouragement.
THANK YOU for all you're doing, amazing!
What??????!!!!!!!!🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Wahoo!!!!!!!💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I still think Harris has to do more to remind voters that Trump did not create a good economy--he inherited (like his business) a good economy from Obama/Biden before destroying the economy with mishandling of COVID. And to emphasize that the deficit caused by Trump's tax cut for the rich was the biggest single cause of inflation that Biden/Harris had to fix.
Is there a link for tonight's zoom meeting. Yes, I'm voting on Day 1 here in California.
There is no zoom meeting tonight. I will be sending various talks, pods and tv interviews to you over the coming days. Will still be a whole lot of Simon. We will go weekly with my talks next week. Still working out the schedule.
O.k. thank you. I'm working hard right there with you. Vote Blue up and down the ballot!
Amazing, amazing, Simon, thank you for all this info!!! So psyched, I'm diving in to more postcards this afternoon...I appreciate all the work you're doing!!!!!
Interesting comment by an in=law who does not like Trump but told me she could never vote for a "socialist" -- that must be one of the major lines coming out of the GOP/MAGA/FOX machine. I had to counter. But, be aware, door-knockers, you may hear this from Independents and never-Trumpers.
The term "Comrade Kamala" is making inroads in the Hispanic community. So important to counter these lies!
I know it wouldn't be kosher to do this, but I'd like to know what their definition of socialist is, since MAGA also calls us fascists and communists. Trump calls Kamala a Communist. So grade school.
Last evening I watched on MSNBC a bit where union members- tuned in too late to hear which one- from Michigan in a meeting with the host. The members had little knowledge of Trump's legal woes, one did say that he thinks it had something to do with a riot on Feb. 6. Kid you, not- that was the date he gave. They were not interested in abortion. Only one claimed that he had heard something about the Dobb's decision. Pretty disheartning! Didn't stick around to see if they planned to vote. Certainly no time to get rid of the Education Dept. Time to bring Civics back as a requirement, for their own good and America's.
I think it works less well than in the past, and as the Cold War recedes it will be even less effective. But, unfortunately, for a lot of people who left Cuba or Venezuela, as an example, it can be effective. They should understand that Kamala isn't trying to seize the means of production to install a dictatorship of the proletariat. But they don't and never will.
Those things fade with time too I think but we have to make this moment work.
definition: government programs are not the answer; SS and Medicare are the most abused programs (she does live in an area of disability scamming). However, her daughter, my daughter=in-law is an early Alzheimer victim who is receiving SS and Medicare which is also helping my daughter and their children. Go figure. There is no logic. In my day, anything like the ACA would have been considered socialized medicine. (I am 81) Now some of our greatest institutions provide "socialized" medicine -- Kaiser, Cleveland clinic, Mayo, etc -- and big insurance has driven us out of classic coverage into managed care programs. And, now because of waste, high admin costs, we have even worse care and long waits. On the other hand Medicare, while not perfect by any means, has very low admin cost. To me that's how it should work.
We need an educated, informed, emotionally stable/mature electorate for democracy to reach its potential. I had a semester of civics in HS in the early '80s, taught by the football coach, who was a knucklehead. Guess the school itself didn't take the course seriously, which is a travesty.
They were all men
But, some were married. They don't care about their wife's or daughter's health/safety? In addition, what I felt was repugnant was they seemed to have no curiosity about the world they live in how could they not know about Jan.6 th? My thought is that they do know, but they don't care.
Selfish immature men, perhaps unmarried or clueless about their wives feelings
@Simon @Simon @Simon
1) Typo: "Remember, running up the score in the early vote is just about banking more votes..." Needs to say: "NOT just about banking more votes."
2) I'm working with a TikTok creator who needs a script about why it's important to Vote on Day One. Incredibly, there's no TikTok video on that and I want to help make it happen. Thanks Simon I try not to ask you anything. Just a few sentences and we'll make happen!
Thank you for the good news, Simon! Here in Virginia, voters don't register by parties. And last year and this year, Republicans are begging their voters to vote early. They won't vote by mail, but they are voting early. Hopefully, more of our voters than theirs are voting early. Our grassroots group held two Vote Early parties and got over 60 people to vote early and then head to a local brewery to celebrate.
And, by the way, when phone banking, I can see the voters who've already voted and skip them -- in case you ever wondered if it works as seamlessly as Simon says.
When the Target Early tool comes out, soon, it will have modeled party, which makes a highly informed guess on the party of independent voters or states without party registration. It will allow us to see into VA as we did last year and in 2022. It should be out soon. And yes thanks for the validation on the folks coming off the rolls. Entire GOTV system is built around removing folks who have already voted to make this valued voter contacts more effective.
One day, I want to talk with the independent voters that think republicans are so good for the economy. I would love to point out that every democratic administration for the last 30 years has had to rebuild a wrecked economy left by the previous republican administration. Every. Single. One. Harris will be the first democratic president in over 30 years who inherited a strong, growing economy.
I wonder if some of the time, Republicans get credit for coasting on the strong economy left them by the Democrats, then wreck it and leave the Dems with a mess to clean up. So people think things are good under Rep bc of the good economy left by Dems and then think Dems aren’t as good bc 1/2 their term is spent in a mess trying to fix what Reps left them. And usually with an antagonistic congress.
That's exactly right! Remember Clinton left office with a surplus and Bush gave it back to the taxpayers then cut taxes twice. Obama spent 4 years fixing it, but after passing the ACA he lost the house after his first two years in office. It the fixing of the economy that the painful part, and that's what people remember.
Thank you, Simon. Y'all, I'm such a nut that I now think Harris will win in Florida for an early election evening TKO. But I'll stop daydreaming now and get back to my postcards! Happy hump day, everyone!
MeidasTouch has a nice video/podcast about FL out this morning. I'm not holding my breath but glad to see the enthusiasm there. I trust the DNC and Harris campaign will go in only if/when they believe they've got the rest of the map managed and can safely dedicate the immense resources to playing for real in FL.
Democrats need to elect Deb Mucarsel-Powell in Florida to hold the Senate. So we absolutely do need to go into Florida! Holding the Senate is vital for confirming President Harris’ judges and Executive branch appointments, for passing budgets and for passing legislation. We do not want two years of Republican obstruction directed by Trump!
Do you think Tester won't make it? And who do you think has the better shot at the stretch races, Allred in TX or Powell in FL? (Would also love Kunce to beat Hawley's butt.) Right now, Allred seems to be doing better than the others, but only in one poll (up by a point). Hopium springs eternal!
Both TX and FL have brutal voter suppression and are run by fascists so the campaigns need to overcome those barriers in addition to winning over the electorate. I have donated to Tester, Mucarsel-Powell, Kunce, Brown and will give some to Allred, so not counting them out, but I'm not qualified to judge whether any other state should be in play and gaming it out diverts my attention from volunteering so I leave it to Simon and the other experts to make that call.
Makes sense!!
GA has terrible voter suppression and is run by fascists...don't give up on the South. I, of course, trust the DP, but damn I'd love to see us throw some money at Florida, Texas....and now I think we're going to take that Nebraska Senate seat!!
I think we need insurance – and not put all our eggs in one basket. Polls seem to indicate we have a better shot in Florida than Texas. Also, in Florida, the referenda on abortion and on weed should help turnout for our side.
That said, I think the best argument for Mucarsel-Powell is everything Rick Scott says and does!
I too would love to se Lucas Kunce beat the ever-deplorable Hawley but that seems like a very long shot. Likewise Osborn in Nebraska, even though the polls say he’s better positioned.
I agree insurance is a good idea.
Oh, yes, the referendums (I can't carry off proper Latin like you!)...forgot about those. They will help a lot if we are close. I'm not ruling anything out; too many unknowns in our favor. Osborn running as an Indie, so not sure of Dem $$ support. I'll take the 1-point lead, though!
Pretty sure "referendums" is perfectly correct. My Latin is nothing to brag about. That said, my daughter stunned me by reading Harry Potter in Latin in her late teens!
Katrina Christiensen. ND.
In Florida, our ace in the hole may be Haitians and their allies. "
More than 300,000 totally legit Haitians are registered to vote in Florida – and they have higher turnout than average Floridians.
Janice, if you're gonna dream, why not DREAM BIG??!!
Please stay safe in Florida all ! !!🌀 Predicted to be a massive Cat 3 hurricane, Helene is expected to make landfall Thursday night.JD Vance is of course so concerned…he’s holding a fundraiser(up to 100k/couple) in Winter Park today where they’re under state of emergency and tropical storm warning.Guess he won’t be helping pass out sandbags!